Sorry, the sun glasses threw me off ...
Posted on 03/09/2005 6:47:35 AM PST by woofie
NEW YORK Responding to a request from House Democrats to investigate the approval of James Guckert, a.k.a. Jeff Gannon, to attend White House briefings and presidential press conferences for two years, the U.S. Secret Service has declared that there was “no deviation” from “proper procedures."
Secret Service Deputy Assistant Director Conrad A. Everett defended the vetting in a letter to Rep. John Conyers and Rep. Louise Slaughter, obtained by the Web site, The Raw Story. Guckert is the former reporter for GOPUSA/Talon News who has also been linked to male escort services.
“Mr. Guckert provided the Secret Service with his legal name, rather than his 'pen name,' and was assessed using the same criteria applied to all individuals seeking access to White House briefings,” Everett wrote.
“We would note,” Everett added, “that members of the press who are afforded access to the White House may utilize professional names that differ from their legal names. The Secret Service, however, requires that legal names be provided to enable the screening processes to work effectively.”
But Rep. Slaughter told The Raw Story, “While I appreciate the Secret Service's response to some of our questions, the bigger picture remains. The relationship between this Administration and Jeff Gannon was anything but typical and the American people deserve the full, unvarnished truth.”
Rep. Conyers said questions remained about who at the White House paved the way for Guckert to receive a “day pass,” meant for occasional use by out-of-town journalists, nearly every weekday for two years.
John Aravosis of Americablog, who has been prominent in the current uproar, asked: “If Gannon's day pass was effectively equivalent to a 'hard pass' given to long-term White House reporters, why didn't Gannon get a more thorough background check?” In his view, Gannon/Guckert “posed the same potential risk to national security as any hard pass reporter,” yet he was “never forced to get a hard pass, and thus never required to get the hard pass three-month FBI background check.”
Gee the media never worried about JFK and Ben Bradley (WAPO) hanging out at hotels together.
The MSM is really getting 'Wood' over this story.
The First Ammendment is in play here, do the rats want to abolish it for conservatives? If it was about a liberal socialist they wouldnt have a thing to say here.
These days its hard to find a good scandal
Well if they want to investigate the media relationship with politicians I say we check out how many reporters spend private time with DUMS. Or get to meet "on background" with Dum Senators and Congress weasels.
OK Reresentative Slaughter, here it is:
You sir are a partisan hack.
True, the Dums are scraping the bottom of the barrel.
"...the American people deserve the full, unvarnished truth."
The liberals and "progressive" Democrats never thought that way about the Clinton crimes. And they still don't.
I say go ahead, establish standards for the Washington Press Corps, including evaluation and identification of sexual preferences.
The liberal reporters complain that a conservative reporter was given access? I suppose they think this is a big scandal. And they might be right, but for the wrong reason.
Gannongate was sooooooo last month.
Congress has no business interjecting itself into the question of who the White House should allow to attend press briefings.
Why does Helen Thomas STILL have a press pass?She isn't a 'reporter' any more, she's a "columnist". And the ONLY columnist with a WH press pass. So if 'we' are going to play by the rules, hers needs to be canceled YESTERDAY.
Since when?
This is hilarious. What a joke. Helen Thomas was so far up the Clintons' behinds she lost sight of daylight. Was THAT a "typical relationship?"
Is it now the MSM position that a gay reporter is a security risk? If so, the press room will shortly have a much smaller population.
Well, although she looks like a sir, she's Louise :-(
Sorry, the sun glasses threw me off ...
I'm still awaiting news that will either confirm or refute that Gannon/Guckert is one and the same as Johnny Gosch, the 12 year old paper boy who was kidnapped by a child-trafficking ring in the 80s. If indeed Gannon is Gosch and it can be proven, there's indeed hope that the child traffickers related to the Boys Town Franklin Nebraska cover-up will be identified and punished.
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